Growing Pains

Little Bug keeps advancing in sudden and surprising ways. Some are mundane and others are extraordinary. I wanted to share with you all the exciting things that have happened on our vacation. (By the way, sorry for the delay in posts- Christmas time is crazy personally and professionally.)


• A big boy car seat- yep you read that right. The booster seat kind that he only buckles into. In general, this is the more worrisome to Nick and I as he can get out of it and likes to talk about the “red button” (the seat belt release) every time we’re in the car. We are looking for a cover for it so that he doesn’t escape.

• Pretend play- as in self directed lengthy pretend play. He will set up his trains and have them pretend to go places- the garden, school, and Target. They talk to each other, fight, and play. He describes their emotions- cross, happy, excited, and sad. He will play independently for upwards of half an hour in his imaginary world.

• Big boy bed. He has chosen to sleep in it by himself. While he still makes trips back to our bed, he is pretty good about going to sleep in it and staying there. I am sure the reward goal of a Thomas Blanket has helped him stay motivated.

• A normal childhood fear. Rather than a sensory based fear that is mind boggling, he has become afraid of the dark. While this may seem strange to rejoice in, it is nice to have a straight forward problem that tons of kids (and some adults too) deal with.

• Choosing the play place over his parents. At a local grocery store, they have a play place where the children can be watched while the parents grocery shop. The one caveat is that parents aren’t welcome. He has always wanted to go, but never without us. Finally, one day, he decided that he could do it. He stayed in there for 45 minutes and Nick and I waited for the page of doom. They take your information and page you should your child become out of hand or stink. We didn’t receive a page.

• Last but not least, peeing standing up. He has decided that this is the way to do it. He will not sit on the potty ring anymore- for babies is what he says. Granted, he hasn’t successfully peed this way in the bathroom. He has however peed this way in the bedroom and the kitchen. He also has provided us with a ton of laughter. When he first tried to do it, he stood in front of the toilet and frowned. He looked at me and said, “It’s not working!” Trying to keep a straight face, I explained that he didn’t have to pee. He felt that I was incorrect and took to tapping it- like you would to see if a microphone works- and yelled at it, “WORK! WORK!” I haven’t laughed so hard in my whole life.

This vacation was amazing because it was the first time that he was able to understand the holiday. To me, Christmas is about kids. I know that a lot of people celebrate it for religious reasons, but I personally celebrate it for family and most especially the kids.

Little Bug had a blast. He would open each present and say something nice about it and then say thank you to whomever gave it to him. He wasn’t the greedy hoarding present type, the truly excited and wanting to unwrap everyone’s for them type. Our family had a great time.

The hardest thing about the growing process is the growing pains for the parents. Nick and I found ourselves in tears of happiness and sadness. When things are changing, you notice the impact that the little person has had on your life. We are overjoyed to see this development and truly grateful. We are also a little sad…